From 78589c0c0caab2aa25401f56b09ed8c88aaa1a91 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: webdevsamran <webdevsamran@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 2026 21:13:50 +0500
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] config: deprecate non-string values for string-typed ini
 options in ini mode

_getini_ini returned any value as-is for type='string' (the default when addini is called without type=), while _getini_toml strictly validates. A TOML array in [tool.pytest.ini_options] therefore silently became a list for string-typed options.

Per the maintainer-approved path in #14808, emit a PytestDeprecationWarning in ini mode when a string-typed option receives a non-str value; it will raise TypeError in pytest 10.
---
 changelog/14808.deprecation.rst |  4 ++++
 src/_pytest/config/__init__.py  | 10 ++++++++++
 testing/test_config.py          | 23 +++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 37 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 changelog/14808.deprecation.rst

diff --git a/changelog/14808.deprecation.rst b/changelog/14808.deprecation.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..18c1417d06d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/14808.deprecation.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+In ini mode (``.ini`` files and ``[tool.pytest.ini_options]`` in ``pyproject.toml``),
+reading a non-string value for a :confval:`string`-typed ini option (including
+options registered without an explicit type, which default to ``"string"``) is now
+deprecated and will raise a ``TypeError`` in pytest 10.
diff --git a/src/_pytest/config/__init__.py b/src/_pytest/config/__init__.py
index 7a7573de050..8a9923abca4 100644
--- a/src/_pytest/config/__init__.py
+++ b/src/_pytest/config/__init__.py
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@
 from _pytest.pathlib import safe_exists
 from _pytest.stash import Stash
 from _pytest.warning_types import PytestConfigWarning
+from _pytest.warning_types import PytestDeprecationWarning
 from _pytest.warning_types import warn_explicit_for
 
 
@@ -1949,6 +1950,15 @@ def _getini_ini(
         elif type == "bool":
             return _strtobool(str(value).strip())
         elif type == "string":
+            if not isinstance(value, str):
+                warnings.warn(
+                    PytestDeprecationWarning(
+                        f"{self.inipath}: config option '{name}' expects a string value, "
+                        f"got {builtins.type(value).__name__}: {value!r}. This will raise "
+                        "a TypeError in pytest 10."
+                    ),
+                    stacklevel=2,
+                )
             return value
         elif type == "int":
             if not isinstance(value, str):
diff --git a/testing/test_config.py b/testing/test_config.py
index 4a290f98ec5..a713301fdd4 100644
--- a/testing/test_config.py
+++ b/testing/test_config.py
@@ -949,6 +949,29 @@ def pytest_addoption(parser):
         with pytest.raises(ValueError):
             config.getini("other")
 
+    def test_addini_string_type_toml_list_deprecated(self, pytester: Pytester) -> None:
+        # https://github.com/pytest-dev/pytest/issues/14808
+        pytester.makeconftest(
+            """
+            def pytest_addoption(parser):
+                parser.addini("mystr", "a string option", type="string")
+                parser.addini("myuntyped", "an untyped option")
+        """
+        )
+        pytester.makepyprojecttoml(
+            """
+            [tool.pytest.ini_options]
+            mystr = ["a", "b"]
+            myuntyped = ["c", "d"]
+        """
+        )
+        config = pytester.parseconfig()
+        with pytest.warns(pytest.PytestDeprecationWarning, match="expects a string value"):
+            assert config.getini("mystr") == ["a", "b"]
+        # Options registered without an explicit type default to "string".
+        with pytest.warns(pytest.PytestDeprecationWarning, match="expects a string value"):
+            assert config.getini("myuntyped") == ["c", "d"]
+
     @pytest.mark.parametrize("config_type", ["ini", "pyproject"])
     def test_addini_paths(self, pytester: Pytester, config_type: str) -> None:
         pytester.makeconftest(

From 068e4fc6e46461c5dc6ec7b8b743d4eb6545f6ea Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "pre-commit-ci[bot]"
 <66853113+pre-commit-ci[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 2026 16:15:32 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] [pre-commit.ci] auto fixes from pre-commit.com hooks

for more information, see https://pre-commit.ci
---
 testing/test_config.py | 8 ++++++--
 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/testing/test_config.py b/testing/test_config.py
index a713301fdd4..04b37f0bf3c 100644
--- a/testing/test_config.py
+++ b/testing/test_config.py
@@ -966,10 +966,14 @@ def pytest_addoption(parser):
         """
         )
         config = pytester.parseconfig()
-        with pytest.warns(pytest.PytestDeprecationWarning, match="expects a string value"):
+        with pytest.warns(
+            pytest.PytestDeprecationWarning, match="expects a string value"
+        ):
             assert config.getini("mystr") == ["a", "b"]
         # Options registered without an explicit type default to "string".
-        with pytest.warns(pytest.PytestDeprecationWarning, match="expects a string value"):
+        with pytest.warns(
+            pytest.PytestDeprecationWarning, match="expects a string value"
+        ):
             assert config.getini("myuntyped") == ["c", "d"]
 
     @pytest.mark.parametrize("config_type", ["ini", "pyproject"])